Learning to Swim
by FanFictionKatie
Summary: Probending Circuit Challenge Day 1 Enjoy!


"Katara, aren't you coming in?" Sokka asks, spouting water from his mouth.

"Yeah, why are you still sitting at the shore?" Aang asks. "You are an _awesome _waterbender! How could you _not _come swimming?"

"Well." I said.

"What?" Aang asks quickly, cutting me off.

"I've never been swimming," I finish, looking down.

"No way. You live in the water tribe. I lived there with you," Sokka says, rolling his eyes.

"Oh really. Think back, Sokka," Sokka rubbed his forehead, and closed his eyes.

"No. Way! You have never been swimming!" He said after a few minutes.

"Well, still, you are a waterbending prodigy, why can't you just bend yourself around?" Aang asks. He is obviously confused.

"It's not the same. Whenever I try to swim, I always end up bending. And, I wish I could just..."

"Swim?" Sokka offers.

"Yeah," I say.

"Wait, wait. So you're so accustomed to your bending, that you can't even swim? Try it, I have to see this," Aang exclaims. I sigh, and jump into the water.

"Now just move your arms like this," Aang says, waving his arms around once I resurface.

"I know _how _to swim! Well, just watch," I say. I pump my arms and kick my legs. For a second, I'm doing it. I'm swimming! But then, I'm propelled forward with amazing speed.

"What. Just. Happened," Sokka more said than asked.

"See? Swimming motions are too alike to those of waterbending, so I can't swim normally.

"Well... Could you just not bend the water?" Aang asks. I try it. But still, I fly forward through the pond.

"It's impossible," I sigh.

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!...Audrey Hepburn"

"Okay, you just got like, 67% weirder," Sokka says, climbing up Appa to clean in between his toes.

"Wait a minute. You can swim just fine! And you are obviously a waterbender. How do _you _do it?" I ask. It's fun, the bending, but I want to _swim._

"What? I don't know, let me see," Aang says. He swims around in a few circles. Nothing extraordinary happens. "I dunno. Maybe I'm not as used to waterbending, since, you know, I bend all four elements," he says.

"Oh. That would make sense," I say. All three of us think for awhile.

"Hi guys!" someone says. We look up.

"Suki's here! We're trying to teach Katara how to swim," Sokka says.

"What? She's like, the best waterbender ever," Suki says.

"Exactly," Aang says. Then he explains.

"Oh. Well that one is easy. Katara, bend a massive stream of water," Suki says, pointing at the pond. So I do. Pushing my hands up I create a very large water whip. It twirls around, every droplet of water reflecting off the sun beautifully.

"What did that accomplish?" I ask.

"Well, it's cool. But that's not the point. Now, bend a tiny stream of water," she says. I drop the whip back into the pond, careful to only splash Sokka. Then, with just my fingers, I make a thin, short water whip. It too, twirls around at my command, effortlessly.

"Well, that's easy!" I say. "I still don't get what your trying to say, though."

"I think I get it!" Aang says, hopping up and down.

"See, Katara? You can bend less, and that will help you swim. If you control yourself enough to just bend a little bit, it will be more like swimming. You're going to bend, you just are. There's no stopping that. But you can make it more like swimming," Suki explains, looking proud of herself.

"That is an amazing idea!" I exclaim. I jump into the water once more, and start swimming around for the third time. I can tell I'm going faster than normal, but it's more... Real, I guess. "Wow, here I am, a seventeen year old waterbender, swimming for the first time," I say, laughing.

"Yeah, that's my weirdo sister," Sokka says. We all swim to the edge of the pond, and relax there for awhile, talking and enjoying the sunny day.

There's a slight rumble, and loud screaming that's unintelligible.

"What's that noise?" Aang asks.

"I dunno, but it's coming closer," I say, standing up.

"MY CABBAGES!" I hear a voice shout. I know that voice from somewhere, I just can't put my finger on it. Interrupting my thoughts, there's a large splash in the pond, sending water flying everywhere. Drenched, the cool breeze now seeming freezing, I look around. In the water, there's a man in green,..and a cart of some soggy spheres of some sort. "My cabbages!" I hear the man repeat sobbing. Oh. They're cabbages.

"Don't blink. I'm pretty sure this isn't real," Sokka says, his eyes wide.

"Yeah. If I'm not hallucinating, I just saw a man who loves cabbages jump into a large pond," Suki says, completely still.

"Definitely not hallucinating. But what was he running from?" Aang wonders.

"Why don't you ask him?" I say.

"Oh, right." Aang slowly advances, wading into the water. "Hey, um- sir, what were you running from?" he asks.

"It's YOU!" the man yells suddenly, pointing at him.

"Um, yeah, me. Do I know you?" Aang asks.

"Do you know me. DO YOU KNOW ME?" the man screams, running his hand through his wet hair. "Remember the time in Omashu. Remember the pirates? You RUIN MY CABBAGES!" he shouts.

"What?" Aang asks, looking utterly clueless. I have no idea what the man is talking about, either. "I'm sorry if we harmed your.. Cabbages. But it wasn't on purpose. Here, let me help you up. What's your name?" he asks politely.

"They call me the 'Cabbage Merchant'," he grumbles, accepting Aang's help.

"Whoa. Pretty accurate," Sokka says, folding his arms.

"Are you lying? Were you trying to kill my precious babies?" the Cabbage Merchant asks.

"Your precious babies?" Aang asks.

"My cabbages?" he says.

"Um, Cabbage Merchant, we never intended to hurt your cabbages. But.. What _were _you running from?" I ask.

"This guy with a ponytail," the Cabbage Merchant says.

"Zuko?" Suki asks.

"No remember he grew out his hair, and he isn't a total jerk," I say.

"Naah I was messing with you guys, take a joke," the Cabbage Merchant says, smiling.

"Weird guy," Sokka mutters.

"Hey, do you want to join us for a swim?" I ask.

"Well, I've tried to swim, but my waterbending always takes over," he says, shrugging.

"_Really_?" Sokka says, his arms falling limply to his side. "I'm going to go eat some fire flakes."

_A/N: Day 1 of the Probending Circuit challenge. My prompts are:_

_ 1:The Cabbage Merchant_

_ 2:__Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!" - Audrey Hepburn _

_ 3: "Don't blink"_

_I hope you enjoyed it!_


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